BLACK SOCIAL HISTORY Poet and artist honor African-American History month

Gwendolyn Green holds one of her paintings at the joint showing with Pamela Smith at Booksalicious on Saturday.

Two women with diverse religious backgrounds combined their God-given talents in honor of African-American History Month. Sister Pamela Smith and The Reverend Gwendolyn Green discovered a commonality after meeting last year at Bluffton’s Martin Luther King Jr. Day parade.

Smith, a parishioner at St. Gregory the Great Catholic Church and an official of the Catholic Diocese of Charleston, released a chapbook of poetry entitled, “How Jonathan Green Painted My Momma” in January.

After her mother died at the age of 93, Smith decided to write poems about the stories her mother shared with her over the years. Growing up during the depression, Smith’s mother experienced tough times.

“As a grieving process, I had the idea to write the Gullah scenes and the stories my mother and aunt told me about living in North Carolina during the 1920s,” she said. “As a teenager, I was always in tune to the African-American culture because she shared with me about Marian Anderson, Willie Mays and Jackie Robinson being known as the break-through people.”

After reading Smith’s poems, Green discovered similar family experiences.

“It’s just wow. We’re two different people with the same story. We’re soul-tied,” Green said. “Some people think that I wrote the book until they get to the back page to see it was Sister Pamela, a nun, as the author. It’s just fascinating.”

As pastor of St. John Baptist Church, Green is involved with the Han Me Down Gullah Museum. With a heart to write a children’s book dedicated to sharing the Gullah history, she self-discovered her painting talent.

“Someone had given my child an art set as a Christmas present and I soon started painting on anything from boards to solid pieces of plastic,” Green said. “My brother was supposed to do the illustrations but since he wasn’t doing it, I started painting.”

With stories from her grandparents of Spring Island, Green’s bright-colored paintings depict her family history. People at her church have said Green’s paintings are similar to Jonathan Green’s.

In honor of Black history month, the two offered a joint showing at Booksalicious recently. Connected through stories of their ancestors, Smith and Green celebrate the Gullah culture with hopes that others will also appreciate the history.

“Whether it comes from the printed word or painting, it is the celebration of life and God’s goodness,” Smith said.

Smith’s poems share themes of love, loss, loneliness but have an underlying theme celebrating life and faith. In July, Smith submitted her poems to contest with Finishing Line Publishers. Despite not winning the contest, the company offered to publish Smith’s poems. Each poem is named after a Jonathan Green painting, which depicts the African-American culture.

Before being compared to Jonathan Green, Green had never seen his artwork. She paints the scenes of her family’s history. One painting shares the story of her grandfather’s farm land and how after playing baseball, the boys would take watermelons from his fields.

“One day he was hiding in the crops and he came out with a shotgun to scare the boys off. After that incident, he had great crops. I decided to paint that story because it was exciting,” Green said.

The proceeds from the books and paintings will return to the churches of Smith and Green. Through their appreciation for the African-American culture, they two have bonded and hope to reach others through their talents.

Green is in the process of writing and illustrating a children’s book while Smith continues to compose poetry focusing on the meditations of the Bible.